IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)873-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  institute  for  Historical  IVIicroreproductions  /  institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiquas 


Tachnical  and  Bibliographic  Notaa/Nota*  tachniquaa  at  bibliographlquaa 


Tha  Instituta  has  anamptad  to  obtain  tha  bast 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturas  of  this 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographicaily  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagas  in  tha 
raproduction.  or  which  may  significantly  changa 
tha  usual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chackad  balow. 


0 
D 
D 
D 
D 
D 
D 
D 
D 

D 


n 


Colourad  covars/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 

Covars  damagad/ 
Couvartura  andommagia 

Covars  rastorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  rastauria  at/ou  palliculAa 

Covar  titia  missing/ 

La  titra  da  couvartura  manqua 

Colourad  mapa/ 

Cartas  gtegraphiquas  9n  coulaur 

Colourad  ink  (i.a.  othar  than  blua  or  black)/ 
Encra  da  coulaur  (i.a.  autra  qua  blaua  ou  noira) 

Colourad  plataa  and/or  illuatrationa/ 
Planchaa  at/ou  illustrations  an  coulaur 

Bound  with  othar  matarial/ 
RaliA  avac  d'autras  documants 

Tight  binding  may  causa  shadows  or  distortion 
along  intarior  margin/ 

La  re  liura  sarria  paut  causar  da  I'ombra  ou  da  la 
distorsion  la  long  da  la  marga  inttriauro 

Blank  taavas  addad  during  rastoration  may 
appaar  within  tha  taxt.  Whanavar  possibla.  thasa 
hava  baan  omittad  from  filming/ 
II  sa  paut  qua  cartainas  pagas  blanchas  ajouttea 
lors  d'una  rastauration  apparaissant  dans  la  taxta. 
mais,  lorsqua  cala  4tait  possibla,  cas  pagas  n'ont 
paa  tti  filmtes. 

'''■/'.';  -   *     -     '>'  -   1.""'.:' ~ 

Additional  commants:/ 
Commentairas  supplimantairas: 


L'Inatitut  a  microfilmA  la  maillaur  axamplaira 
qu'il  lui  a  iti  possibla  da  sa  procurar.  Las  details 
da  cat  axamplaira  qui  sont  paut-Atra  uniquas  du 
point  da  vua  bibliographiqua,  qui  pauvant  modifier 
una  imaga  raproduita.  ou  qui  pauvant  axigar  una 
modification  dana  la  mithoda  normala  da  filmaga 
sont  indiquAs  ci-daasous. 


□  Colourad  pagas/ 
Pagaa  da  coulaur 


Pagaa  damaged/ 


Pagas  andommagias 
LJ   Pagas  raataurtes  at/ou  palliculias 


D 


Pagaa  rastorad  and/or  laminated/ 
Pagas  raataurtes  at/ou  palliculias 

Pagas  discotourad,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  dicoiortes.  tachaties  ou  piquias 

Pagaa  detached/ 
Pagas  dAtachies 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir\ 

Qualiti  in^gala  de  I'impression 

Includas  supplementary  matarii 
Comprend  du  material  suppl4mentaira 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Mition  disponibie 


rri  Pagaa  detached/ 

r^  Showthrough/ 

r~n  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

rn  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I — I  Only  edition  available/ 


Pagas  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Lea  pagaa  totalement  ou  partiallement 
obscurcies  par  un  fauiilet  d'arrata,  una  pelure, 
etc..  ont  M  filmtes  i  nouveau  de  fapon  A 
obtanir  la  meilleure  imaga  possible. 


,  ■- 1 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  rMuction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

y 

12X 


16X 


»X 


a4x 


28X 


32X 


ails 

du 

idifier 

una 

naga 


Th«  copy  filmed  h«r«  hm  b—n  raproduetd  thanks 
to  t(M  ganaroaity  of: 

Nwv  Bruniwick  MuMum 
Saint  John 

Tha  imagaa  appearing  hara  ara  tho  baat  quaiity 
poaaibia  conaidaring  tha  condition  and  lagibiiity 
of  tha  originai  copy  and  in  icaoping  with  tha 
Aiming  contract  apacifieationa. 


L'axampiaira  fiimA  fut  raproduit  grica  A  la 
gAnAroaitA  da: 

New  Bruniwieic  Muiaum 
Saint  John 

Laa  imagaa  auivantaa  ont  At*  raproduitaa  avac  la 
piua  grand  aoin,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattatA  da  l'axampiaira  fllmA,  at  tt 
conformitA  avac  laa  conditlona  du  contrat  da 
fiimaga. 


Original  copiaa  in  printad  papar  covara  ara  fiimad 
beginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  iiluatratad  impraa> 
sion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copiaa  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printad  or  iiluatratad  Imprae- 
sion,  and  ending  on  the  iaet  page  with  a  printad 
or  iiluatratad  impraaaion. 


Laa  exempleirea  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
papier  eat  imprimAe  aont  fiimAa  an  commen^nt 
par  la  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  ampreinte 
d'impreaaion  ou  dllluatration,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  seion  le  oaa.  Toua  laa  autrea  axemplairaa 
originaux  aont  fiimAa  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
dimpreaaion  ou  d'liiustratlon  at  en  terminant  par 
la  darnlAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  laat  recorded  frame  on  eech  microfiche 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  ^•^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  aymbol  ▼  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  appiiea. 


Un  dee  symboies  suhranta  apparaftra  aur  la 
darnlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — »>  signifle  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symboie  T  signifle  "FIN". 


Meps.  piatea,  charta,  etc.,  may  be  fiimod  at 
different  reduction  ratioa.  Thoae  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  expoaure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  comer,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  aa  many  framee  aa 
required.  The  following  diagrama  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lea  cartea,  pianchea,  tableeux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
fllmAe  A  dee  taux  de  rAduction  diff Arenta. 
Loraque  le  document  eat  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproiduit  en  un  seui  ciichA,  il  est  fllmA  A  partir 
de  i'angle  aupAriaur  gauche,  de  gaucfte  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  baa,  an  prenant  la  nombre 
d'imagea  nAceaaaire.  I.as  diagrammea  suivanta 
iiluatrent  la  mAthode. 


rata 
> 


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THE 


COJ^FLAC^RATIOIf, 

A  POEM, 

WRITTEN  AND  PUBLISHED  FOR  THE 


^>''., 


-<^i. 


..    \- 


*?' 


BY  THX 


Xtrcrnt  W»mixwi%  iF(te» 


IN  THB 


PROVINCE  OF  NEW  BRUNSWICI5;.  '^  * 


■v!i% 


BT  OaO&Oll  aCAWSASf  B8QVZAB, 

■HITlaH  CONSVL  IN  MAasACHVIBTTS. 


>  -   1  /■.  -::r—  imm,,. 


"  Sentitur  pleriaque  prius  quam  cernitur  ignis 
"  ExcitiB  8omno;  multorumque  ora  vocantum 
"  Auzilium  invadunt  flamme." 

SiLivs  ItalicV*. 


#• 


•*^^^-^j 


M 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  INGRAHAM  &  HEWES, 
No.  14,  State  Street. 


1825. 


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I,! 


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.»#*^,i  ■ -«i'**wifii«H-«w.  a»--«»*wiiii, 


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DEDICATION. 


i'h 


To  the  Citizens  of  Boston,  the  prompt  and 

munificent  consolers  of  the  afflicted,  whose  Be* 

nevolence  it  is  difficult  adequately  to  panegyrize, 

and  impossible  to  exaggerate,  I  dedicate  this 

Poem. 

GEORGE  MANNERS. 


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rRBrAOB. 


In  the  following  lines  two  poetical  essentials  are  wanting — Simile  and  Fiction.  Such 
is  the  horrific  sublimity  of  its  subject,  that  the  former  could  not  have  been  easily  intro* 
duced  without  diminishing  the  Grandeur  of  Description;  and  such  the  affecting  incidents 
of  actual  suffering  to  which  it  alludes,  that  the  latter  would,  in  a  great  measure,  have 
destroyed  the  interest  and  sympathy  which  they  are  calculated  to  excite. 

A  Simiky  in  heroic  or  descriptive  poetry,  should  always  elevate  and  enlarge  our  ideas 
of  that  with  which  it  is  compared;  but  neither  the  fancy  of  a  Poet  nor  the  realities  of 
Nature  could  furnish  an  image  equal,  in  horror  and  magnificence,  to  an  Ocean  of  ]<'lame, 
agitated  and  impelled  by  its  attendant  Hurricane,  consuming  forests  and  spreading  de- 
vastation and  destruction  over  millions  of  acres: — Such,  alas!  was  the  dreadful  dispensation 
of  Providence  with  which  the  miserable  inhabitants  of  New  Brunswick  were  recently  visit- 
ed  such  the  unparalleled  horrors  which  I  have  attempted  to  describe.     I  feel  (and  who 

would  not?)  very  inadequate  to  the  task  of  doing  justice  to  the  afflicting  subject;  all  that 
I  have  related  is,  however,  according  to  the  best  information  that  I  have  been  able  to 
obtain,  substantially  correct,  and  I  am  confident  that  my  motives  will  be  iistly  apprecia- 
ted by  a  sympathizing  and  benevolent  Public. 


'1; 


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voia  (e(Osrv:LAi»:iftiiVi^sr^ 


■  Horror  ubiqua  tnimoi,  tlmul  ipt*  lilentU  terrent." 

Viaa.  Mk.  a-7S6. 


What  bosom  bleeds  not  o'er  th»  historic  page 
Which  tells  the  horrors  of  a  former  age, 
When  Herculaneum's  and  Pompeii's  domes 
Sunk  simultaneous  in  their  flaming  tombs; 
When  the  Earth  yawn'd  convulsed,  and,  in  one  grave, 
Perish'd,  engulph'd.  Patrician— Freeman— Slave,— 
The  letter'd  Sage,  ihc  Maid  in  beauty's  pride, 
Th'  exulting  Bridegroom  and  his  blooming  Bride, 
Th'  unconscious  Infant  at  its  Mother's  breast, 
The  honor'd  Matron  and  the  Lord  she  blest? — 
— Sad  tale  of  woe ! — But,  ah,  the  time  has  come 
To  weep  severer  horrors  nearer  home  I 


r 


r- 


i[ 


8 

Lo !  a  dense  cloud  obscures  the  Northern  skies, — 

Hark!  from  New  Brunswick,  piercing  shrieks  arise; 

The  wild  deer  starts  astonish'd  from  his  lair, 

The  soaring  eagle  seeks  a  purer  air, 

The  wand'ring  woodman  stays  his  sturdy  stroke, 

His  breath  impeded  by  impervious  smoke; 

The  moose,  the  bear,  the  wolf,  rush  mingled  by. 

And  scared  and  screaming  birds  around  him  fly ! 

A  fearful  warning  of  his  dreadful  fate — 

He  strives  to  fly — but,  ah,  he  strives  too  late; 

In  vain  Despair  his  waning  strength  renews, 

A  flood  of  Flame  on  wings  of  Wind  pursues — 

Exhausted,  panting,  to  the  Earth  he  falls. 

On  his  lov'd  wife  and  helpless  children  calls: 

But  wife,  alas,  nor  child  again  shall  hear 

The  tender  accents  of  that  voice  so  dear: 

O'erta'en,  enveloped  by  the  ruthless  fires. 

The  wretched  man  in  agony  expires ! 


The  blazing  Deluge  through  the  forest  pours. 
His  fell  ally,  the  fierce  Tornado,  roars; 
Nor  stream  nor  mountain  their  dire  course  restrains, 
They  burst,  at  length,  upon  the  peopled  plains ! 


Horror  of  horrors ! — can  the  Muse  pourtray 

The  matchless  anguish  of  the  dreadful  day? 

Can  the  tongue  utter — can  the  pen  relate, 

In  language  adequate,  the  horrid  fate 

Of  the  devoted  towns? — With  wild  amaze  - 

Through  the  black  smoke  they  see  the  flickering  blaze ; 

Its  pitchy  fumes  corrupt  the  ambient  air, — 

A  moment's  left  them — left  them — to  despair ! 

Hark!  hark!  those  loud,  those  agonizing  cries!      ;    ' 

A  mother's  voice ; — her  stifled  infant  dies ! 

She  clasps  its  corse,  repeats  its  darling  name, 

Reckless  she  hears  approach  the  crackling  flame ; 

Her  husband  rushes  to  their  aid  too  late, —      '  :  *  ?  - 

He  cannot  save  them — but  he  shares  their  fate ! 

Lo!  midst  the  fires,  one  darting  in  despair! — 

His  only  child,  dear  pledge  of  Love,  is  there !     ' 

Nature  impels  him  with  resistless  force. 

In  vain  the  flames  oppose  his  frantic  course — 

He  gains  his  threshold! — for  a  moment  blest, 

He  clasps  his  son,  exulting,  to  his  breast; 

He  flies  again  across  the  torrid  plains, — 

His  vigorous  arm  the  precious  charge  sustains; — 


'.  •U*^*^rf,<'. . 


& 


\ 


w 

Hope  gives  new  energy) — fond  hope  to  see 

His  child  again  embrace  a  mother's  knee, —    . 

She,  haply  absent,  lives  to  share  his  joy 

If  to  her  arms  he  bear  their  lovely  boy ! 

Vain  hope,  alas! — No  more  that  child  shall  bless 

A  mother's  heart — no  more  het  bosom  press  !-~ 

The  raging  elements  more  swiftly  speed. 

The  smothering  fumes  the  infant's  lungs  impede; 

The  frenzied  parent  marks  its  lab'ring  breath, — 

Convulsed  it  struggles  in  the  grasp  <>f  Death ! 

Ye,  who  have  seen  a  parching  fever  doom 

Your  only  infant  to  an  early  tomb, 

Watch'd  by  its  couch  with  agony  intense, 

Mark'd  its  now  wand'ring, — ^now  returning  sense, 

Bent  to  receive  its  feeble,  fond  embrace — 

Hoped,  while  the  hectic  flush  illumed  its  face, — 

Hopeless  beheld  the  transient  color  fly. 

Its  cheek  grow  pale,  and  dim  its  gazeless  eye, 

Heard  the  last  flutt'ring  of  its  ebbing  breath, 

And  witness'd  all  the  horrors  of  its  death. 

Ye,  only  ye,  are  privileged  to  know 

The  father's  dire  pre-eminence  of  woe — 


11 

Your  hearts  a  kindred  sympathy  will  own 

For  those  afflictions  which  ye  once  have  known. 

Confusion— Terror— Uproar— Frenzy— Strife, 
Mar  every  effort  in  defence  of  life — 
A  horrid  din  of  shrieks  and  groans  and  yells, 
The  pangs  of  sufF'ring  hundreds  sadly  tells — 
Crowds  through  the  trackless  woods  attempt  to  fly, 
The  flames  outstrip  them — they  are  doom'd  to  die. 
Some,  headlong  plunging  in  the  foaming  waves, 
Exchange  the  fun'ral  pyre  for  wat'ry  graves! 
A  lucky  few  escape  the  torrid  beach 
On  planks  of  pine,  and  doubtful  safety  reach. 

Hope,  ye  survivers,  hope! — See  o'er  the  surge 
Yon  succ'ring  bark  the  dauntless  seamen  urge — 
— Strain  ev'ry  sinew  to  impel  the  oar! 
Q,uick !  or  they  perish  ere  ye  gain  the  shore ! 
Forward  she  presses! — but,  alas,  how  small! — 
Who  shall  remain? — She  can't  receive  them  all! 
Yet  all  rush  to  her — Cease  that  horrid  strife ! 
Ah,  who  can  blame  them? — they  contend  for  life! — 
3 


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'...u;da£^^i-...j^)Ii?'^4^{^£UiuJ 


12 

Frantic  they  cling  to  the  receding  boat, 
Oppress' d  and  crowded,  she  can  scarcely  float; 
Numbers  convulsively  the  gunwale  clasp, 
The  oarsmen  free  it  from  their  fatal  grasp, — 
Self-preservation  hardens  ev'ry  breast, — 
A  part  must  perish  to  preserve  the  rest — 
Heart-rending  scene ! — For  them  Hope's  cheering  ray 
Beam'd  but  a  moment,  flatt'ring.to  betray: 
Short,  though  severe,  their  suff'rings — in  the  deep 
Their  pangs  are  ended — and  they  cease  to  weep. 


Now  glow  the  waves  with  rails  of  burning  pine, 
And  all  the  merchant's  floating  riches  join 
To  feed  th'  insatiate  fires — Rock'd  on  the  tide. 
Far  from  the  beach  his  gallant  vessels  ride — 
Still  insecure — nor  space  nor  waters  yield 
Against  the  rav'ning  pest  a  guardian  shield; 
The  burning  embers,  spread  by  furious  gales, 
Descend  in  show'rs  and  fasten  on  their  sails; 
Their  blazing  masts  the  glowing  deep  illume. 
Their  crews  desert  them,  and  the  flames  consume— 
Stores,  wharves  and  docks,  the  gen'ral  ravage  share, 
And  all  is  ruin,  horror  and  despair ! 


■m^ 


l 


13 

At  length  the  whirlwind's  hush'd;  the  welcome  rains' 
Descend  in  torrents  on  the  hissing  plains, 
The  blaze  expires — but  Misery  remains ! 
So  deep,  so  poignant  the  survivors'  grief. 
Escape  from  death  is  scarcely  dcem'd  relief- 
Parents  their  children — children  parents  mourn, 
Wives  weep  for  lords  that  never  will  return — 
Lovers  the  loved — friends,  slaughter'd  friends  deplore, — 
The  tend' rest  ties  are  rent  to  join  no  more. 

Drear,  parch' d  and  desolate,  in  horrid  guise, 
Surrounding  scenes  accord  with  streaming  eyes — 
Ashes  lie  scatter'd,— recent  cinders  smoke 
Where  wav'd  the  pine  and  tow'r'd  the  monarch  oak; 
Their  blasted  trunks  in  rifted  ruin  stand. 
Black,  charr'd  and  branchless,  they  deform  the  land 
They  once  adom'd. — Scorch' d,  mangled,  sear'd  and  dead. 
The  herds  he  prostrate  where  they  lately  fed: 
Ormucto's  stream  a  hideous  group  pollutes. 
The  sodden  carcasses  of  men  and  brutes — 
These  urg'd  by  Instinct,  and  by  Reason  those, 
Assur'd  of  death,  the  milder  agent  chose — 


iHMc  jfu-iai^' 


14 

Not  e'en  the  natives  of  the  flood  were  spared, 
The  stifled  shoals  the  gen'ral  havoc  shared ; 
Lifeless  they  float  along  the  neighb'ring  strand, 
Or  lie,  in  putrid  myriads,  on  the  sand;* 
An  universal  devastation  reigns 
Tlu'ough  ev'ry  hill,  and  saddens  all  the  plains. 

Though  the  full  tide  of  gen'ral  anguish  flow. 
The  heart  will  dwell  on  individual  woe. 
And  own  a  warmer  sympathy  for  grief, 
Beyond  the  reach  of  solace  or  relief- 
Such  as  yon  wretched  youth's, — without  control 
Sorrow  triumphant  revels  in  his  soul — 
He  in  a  moment  reach'd  Grief's  utmost  bourne. 
Chief  mourner  he,  where  all  are  doom'd  to  mourn. 


*A11  that  Homer  feigned  of  the  Seamander  was  realized  by  the  rirers  of  New  Brunswick.  Innumera- 
ble salmon  and  other  fish,  stifled  by  the  smoke  or  destroyed  by  the  excessive  heat  of  the  atmosphere,  were 
cast  lifeless  upon  their  shores.  To  describe  this  circumstance,  with  any  degree  of  poetical  effect,  I  found  es- 
tremely  difficult:  Fish,  save  "the  enormous  Monsters  of  the  Deep,"  are  by  no  means  "a  subject  of  the  Sub- 
lime:" Even  Pope  has  failed  in  his  translation  of  the  passage  to  which  I  have  above  alluded;  indeed,  the 
iQstre  of  the  Greek  language  seems  necessary  to  embellish  the  description: — his  version  is  as  follows: 


the  fishes  pant  for  breath, 


<'  The  eels  lie  twisting  in  the  pangs  of  death, 
"  Now  flounce  aloft,  now  dive  the  scaly  fry, 
"  Or,  gasping,  turu  their  bellies  to  the  sky." 

PoFK.  lb.  21  ▼.  412. 


ii-S 


^^BWBwB'*  fc^mf«!..>it»'- 


15 

From  Erin's  isle,  on  wings  of  Love,  he  fled 
With  the  dear  partner  of  his  bridal  bed: 
Long  had  they  loved,  and  long  they  sought  to  gain 
A  father's  sanction  to  their  vows,  in  vain; 
Proud  of  his  wealth,  th'  obdurate  parent  strove. 
By  ev'ry  art,  to  thwart  their  blameless  love; 
Though  ev'ry  charm  adom'd  her  beauteous  face,  * 
Though  her  form  boasted  ev'ry  winning  grace, 
Though  purity,  of  thought  and  taste  refined 
Beam'd  in  her  eye, — the  index  of  her  mind, 
One  charm  alone  could  his  consent  secure, 
That  one  she  wanted — she,  alas,  was  poor ! 
Love  proved  resistless, — the  fond  lover  prest, 
And  mutual  faith  a  secret  marriage  blest. 
Far  o'er  the  Western  main  they  sought  repose — 
In  doom'd  New  Brunswick's  woods  their  cottage  rose; 
There  Peace  and  Love,  awhile,  dwelt  unrestrain'd, 
And  bliss,  which  fiction  feigns,  was  there  attain'd. 
Alas,  while  all  was  happiness  and  joy. 
Fate  seal'd  her  dire  commission  to  destroy: 
He,  on  the  morning  of  the  fatal  day. 
Had  launch'd  his  shallop  in  the  neighb'ring  bayr 
4 


■*k_  ■_■->;-.-.■. 


fsC 


16 

A  parting  tear  had  gemm'd  her  beauteous  face, 
A  sigh  escaped  her  in  their  last  embrace, — 
(Alas,  their  last  indeed!) — a  boding  gloom 
Oppressed  his  bosom  as  he  left  his  home, — 
The  weakness  still  unwilling  to  betray, 
Towards  the  beach  he  bent  his  lonely  way. 
Scarce  had  his  bark  approach'd  the  adverse  shore, 
When  his  ear  caught  the  rising  whirlwind's  roar — 
He  sees  the  fires  illume  the  stormy  West! — 
Horror  and  anguish  fasten  on  his  breast ; 
Still  hope  he  cherishes! — Avenging  Heav'n 
Had  never  mortal  heart  so  sorely  riv'n, — 
Her  angel  virtues  must  protect  his  wife, 
The  flames  must  spare  so  pure,  so  dear  a  life! — 
Such  are  his  maniac  thoughts — Alas,  how  vain! — 
That  wife  his  arms  shall  never  clasp  again — 
Helpless  she  shrieks,  the  all-devouring  flame 
Feeds  on  her  charms  and  racks  her  tender  frame ; 
Her  husband  hears  not  her  heart-rending  cries, 
Writhing,  alone,  the  lovely  sufferer  dies. 

The  storm  is  pass'd — the  adverse  winds  no  more 
Repel  his  efforts  to  regain  the  shore. 


^. 


'^.y^: 


.*^* 


17 

Wing'd  with  Despair,  he  rushes  to  the  spot 
Where  late  he  left  her  in  his  happy  cot, — 
But  wife  nor  cot  now  bless  his  anxious  eyes — 
All,  all  in  one  sad  ruin  mingled  lies. 
Speechless  the  miserable  maniac  stands, 
Extending  Heav'nwards  his  imploring  hands. 
With  vacant  gaze  regards  the  horrid  heap 
Of  smould'ring  ruins — but  he  cannot  weep: — 
His  heart  rejects  the  desolating  truth 
That  she,  so  lately  gay  in  health  and  youth. 
So  fair,  so  pure,  so  lovely  and  so  loved, 
She  whose  affections  he  so  often  proved. 
Is  lost — forever  lost! — her  beauteous  form 
Scattered  in  ashes  by  the  ruthless  storm ! 
Thus  on  some  leafless  branch  or  rugged  stone 
Sits  the  sad  eagle,  desolate  and  lone, 
Gazes  intently  on  the  fatal  spot 
Where  his  mate  perish' d  by  the  recent  shot, 
Throws  his  far-darting  eye  across  the  heath, 
Vainly  expecting  her  return  from  death. 


Turn  we  our  eyes  from  these  soul-harrowing  sfghts 
To  scenes  in  which  Humanity  delights: 


(i«;ii(i.,. 


18 


Though  Famine  gaunt,  with  fell  destruction  rife, 
Rushes  relentless  against  suffering  Life, 
Lo !  mild  Benevolence*  presents  her  shield 
And  drives  the  rav'ning  monster  from  the  field ; 
From  ev'ry  breast  extracts  the  venom'd  dart, 
And  pours  her  balm  on  ev'ry  bleeding  heart. 
All  hail!  thou  noblest  attribute  of  man, 
Thou  grand  essential  in  the  social  plan 
Of  Nature — O,  may  thy  bland  influence  bind 
In  one  vast  family  all  human  kind. 
Soften  asperities  of  kindred  States, 
Blot  out  all  traces  of  unnat'ral  hates, 
Conciliate  feelings  lib'ral,  just  and  kind, 
And  re-unite  the  ties  by  feuds  disjoin'd ! 


*  It  might,  perhipi,  appear  invidious  to  mention  individual  inatancea  of  Ubflrality  aod  Benevolence;  I  may, 
however,  be  allowed  to  observe  that,  munificent  as  the  contributions  of  affluent  individuals  resident  in  Boston 
have  been,  much  larger  sums  were,  as  I  have  been  informed,  proffered  by  them,  which  were,  however,  very 
properly  declined,  by  the  Committee  appointed  to  conduct  the  Subscription,  lest  their  acceptance  should  have 
excited  unpleasant  and  disadvantageous  feeling*  in  the  bosoms  of  those  whose  means  were  not  so  adequate  to 
the  manifesUtion  of  their  equally  humane  dispositions.  The  sums  collected  at  the  various  places  of  wor> 
ship,  in  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  furnish  •  delightful  proof  that  all  Christian  Sects  unite  in  the  practice  of 
Benevolence. 


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